1 Syllable
air · bare · bear · blair · blare · chair · cher · claire · clare
· dare · dear · err · fair · fare · flair · flare · frigidaire · gair
· gare · glar · glare · hair · haire · hare · heir · lair · lare · lehr
· mair · maire · mare · nare · ne'er · pair · pare · pear · prayer
· rare · rear · sare · scare · serr · share · skare · snare · spare
· square · stair · stare · swear · tear · their · there · they're
· ware · wear · were · werre · where
2 Syllables
affair · anywhere · aware · belair · belaire · belare · beware
· compare · declare · dispair · eclair · ensnare · forswear
· frontiere · healthcare · impair · mcnair · midair · o'hare
· pierre · prepare · repair · st_claire · takecare · unfair
· voltaire · welfare · westair · whitehair
3 Syllables
billionaire · debonair · delaware · disrepair · doctrinaire
· everywhere · javier · jeanpierre · millionaire · questionnaire
· solitaire · somewhere · st_pierre · unaware · underwear
Tears wet at the tip of his chin
Dried, from the wind, on his exposed cheeks
Fresh scent of strange fruit filled the clouds
Which overcast the band that played mournful music with their walk
That sung sorrow hymns with their prayers
Woe voices traveling through the steel bars from the mouths of innocent sexes
Voices shuffled through the beaten bodies,
Terrorized by the pale hand that held the leash of a brainwashed dog, taught to execute our heritage
Burning sun, cooking the flesh of a man, causing the smoke smell similar to the burnt smell of the four baby girls, whose bodies were modified by hatred and fire, bricks and inequality
They metaphorically lynched Cynthia Wesley, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, and Denise McNair
They lynched the quiet ones, the blessed ones, the powerful ones, the trust of our race
Don't let them lynch our generation
NOT A HAIR WAS LOST
When he walked away, I was at a LOW
Well-wishers wondered what caused the ROW
He had a new idea and assumed I wouldn’t FLOW
I assured that to the new line, I would TOW
My pleas and prayers almost caused me a BLOW
But I lifted myself up and decided henceforth to GLOW
I looked inwards and worked on my WEAKNESS
I mustn’t allow the loneliness to cause a SICKNESS
My strengths can surely take me to GREATNESS
Few qualities must be added to passion; like MEEKNESS
Many have risen from obscurity to AWESOMENESS
My Pastor also advised I covet RIGHTEOUSNESS
Alas! Fortune decided to come my WAY
It shone so brightly like a strong RAY
The first signs came in the month of MAY
A friend even wanted to know where I PRAY
I even had to relocate from where I used to STAY
The new place was more expensive; yet I could PAY
Not a hair was lost despite initial DESPAIR
But God’s mercy did the necessary REPAIR
All the blessings came my way; as a PAIR
Wealth and health; Greatness with FUNFAIR
I didn’t have to kill; all free as the AIR
An analyst even drew comparison with McNair
© Wole Popoola
August 2015
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